The Epistles of John

With this study--companion to the masterful two-volume "The Gospel According to John--"Raymond E. Brown completed his trilogy on the Johannine corpus. Meticulous in detail, exhaustive in analysis, persuasive in argument, it examines controversies that have long troubled both biblical scholars and lay readers. Questions of authorship, composition, and dating, as well as the debate over source theories, are discussed at length; but these are kept subordinate to the overall question of meaning. What give this commentary special interest and excitement is the bold, imaginative reconstruction of the setting of the Johannine work--in particular of the "opposition figures," who are only dimly sketched in the Epistles--so that we see clearly that the author is writing to his flock both about the dangers and difficulties confronting them, and about the eternal life that is theirs by the gift of God. In this way, the Epistles of John become intelligible as broadsides in a critical engagement between the forces of light and darkness. In addition to his superb textual analysis of the letters, Raymond Brown has brought to life the community in which these works were formed and shaped. We are forcefully reminded that the Gospel and the Epistles were addressed to very real people living in the first century a.d., people with religious problems not unlike our own. In all respects, "The Epistles of John "stands out as a model of biblical scholarship and study.

Preface	p. ix
Principal Abbreviations	p. xxiii
Introduction
Information from Tradition	p. 3
Designation as Catholic Epistles and Epistles of John	p. 3
Attitudes toward These Epistles in the First Five Centuries	p. 5
Possible Echoes before A.D. 175	p. 6
From the Late Second Century to the Fifth Century	p. 9
Problems of Johannine Authorship	p. 14
Did the Same Author Write All Three Epistles?	p. 14
Common Authorship for II John and III John?	p. 15
Common Authorship for II John and I John?	p. 16
Did the Same Author Write the Fourth Gospel and the Epistles?	p. 19
The Argument for Common Authorship Based on Similarities in Style	p. 20
The Argument against Common Authorship Based on Differences in Style	p. 21
The Argument against Common Authorship Based on Differences in Thought	p. 25
The Argument against Common Authorship Based on Differences in Life Situation	p. 28
In What Sequence Were the Gospel and the Epistles Written?	p. 30
Sequence among the Epistles	p. 30
Was II John or III John Composed First?
Was I John or II John Composed First?
Sequence of GJohn and I John	p. 32
Arguments for the Priority of I John
Arguments for the Priority of GJohn
Source Theories for the Origin of I John	p. 36
The German Theory of an Antithetical-Statement Source	p. 36
E. von Dobschutz	p. 36
R. Bultmann	p. 38
After Bultmann	p. 41
Other Source Theories	p. 43
W. Nauck	p. 43
J. C. O'Neill	p. 45
Origin of I and II John in a Struggle with Adversaries	p. 47
Which Views in I and II John Belong to the Adversaries?	p. 47
Reconstructed Portrait of the Adversaries	p. 49
One Well-defined Group?	p. 49
The Theological Positions of the Adversaries	p. 50
Christology
Ethical Behavior and Attitudes
Comparison to Known Heresies	p. 55
Groups Condemned Elsewhere in the NT
Docetic Opponents of Ignatius of Antioch
Second-century Gnostics
Cerinthians
The Theory Adopted in this Commentary	p. 69
Brief Statement of the Theory	p. 69
The Secessionists' Relation to the Fourth Gospel	p. 71
Methodological Cautions	p. 72
Christology-Secessionist and Fourth Gospel	p. 73
Negating the Importance of Jesus
Not Acknowledging Christ Come in the Flesh and in Blood
Ethics-Secessionist and Fourth Gospel	p. 79
Lack of Emphasis on Moral Behavior
Perfectionist Freedom from Sin
Love of the Brethren
The Epistolary Author's Relation to the Fourth Gospel	p. 86
Literary Genre of I John	p. 86
Universal Religious Tractate
Circular Epistle
Homily; Diatribe; Informal Tractate; Pastoral Encyclical
Comment Patterned on GJohn
Polemic and Argumentation Employed in I John	p. 92
Reuse of GJohn Polemic
Style of Correcting
The "We" of the Johannine School
"From the Beginning"-Older Johannine Theology
Date and Locale of the Epistles	p. 100
The Aftermath	p. 103
The Secessionist Path toward Gnosticism	p. 104
The Path from the Epistles to the Great Church	p. 106
III John and Church Order
The Epistles and the Redaction of GJohn
Evidence from the Church Writers
Structure and Text	p. 116
The Structure of I John	p. 116
Recognition of Units	p. 118
Organization of Units through Thought Patterns	p. 119
Organization of Units through Analogy with Other Writings	p. 122
Miscellaneous Suggestions
GJohn as a Structural Model
The Text of the Epistles	p. 129
General Bibliography for the Johannine Epistles	p. 131
Bibliographies; Surveys	p. 131
Commentaries or General Analyses	p. 131
Earlier Commentaries	p. 131
Recent Works	p. 132
Epistolary Theology	p. 135
General Works	p. 135
Specific Theological Topics	p. 136
"Abiding, remaining" (menein)
"Life" (zoe)
"Love" (agapan, agape, agapetos)
"Sin" (hamartia)
"Truth" (aletheia)
Authorship Issues	p. 138
Source Theories	p. 139
Life and Setting of the Community	p. 140
History	p. 140
House-Churches	p. 143
Adversaries (in General)	p. 143
Specific Adversaries	p. 143
Structure of I John	p. 144
Text	p. 145
Miscellaneous Works Cited in this Commentary	p. 145
The First Epistle of John
The Prologue	p. 149
The Prologue (1:1-4)	p. 151
	p. 189
The Gospel of God as Light; Three Boasts and Three Opposite Hypotheses (1:5-2:2)	p. 191
Three Claims of Intimate Knowledge of God to be Tested by Behavior (2:3-11)	p. 247
Admonitions to Believers: Having Conquered the Evil One, They Must Resist the World (2:12-17)	p. 293
Warning against the Secessionists as Antichrists who Deny the Son and the Father (2:18-27)	p. 329
God's Children versus the Devil's Children (2:28-3:10)	p. 378
	p. 437
The Gospel of Loving One Another (3:11-24)	p. 439
The Spirits of Truth and of Deceit, and Their Respective Adherents (4:1-6)	p. 485
Loving One Another as a Way of Abiding in and Loving God (4:7-5:4a)	p. 512
Faith as Conqueror of the World and the Role of Testimony (5:4b-12)	p. 569
The Conclusion	p. 605
The Conclusion (5:13-21)	p. 607
The Second Epistle of John
The Second Epistle	p. 645
The Third Epistle of John
The Third Epistle	p. 699
Appendixes
Charts	p. 755
Similarities between II-III John and the Other Johannine Writings	p. 755
Similarities between I John and GJohn	p. 757
Bultmann's Reconstructed Source for I John	p. 760
Epistolary Statements Pertinent to the Adversaries' Views	p. 762
Sample Proposed Divisions of I John	p. 764
Outline of I John	p. 765
Cerinthus	p. 766
The Epistle(s) to the Parthians	p. 772
The Johannine Comma	p. 775
General Observations on Epistolary Format	p. 788
Indexes
Bibliographic Index of Authors	p. 797
Subject Index	p. 804
Index of Greek Words	p. 811
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